The Elf And The Archer
by 1monster2
Summary: This is the first book in a trilogy that I'm writing! My hope is to publish it, but I wanted to put it up here and see if my fellow fanfiction writers have any suggestions or ideas for me! Please let me know! (but please, no ) I owe Phoenix Of The Air a big thank you, because it was her PM about Fion that inspired me to put this up here! Thanks, Phoenix!


The Elf and the Archer

The Company of the Gem

By Joy Fetters

Illustrated by Maegen Skinner

_Dedications_

_For my dad….now you actually have to correct my writing!_

_To my original three characters, who have been there from the beginning, and gone through five revisions and some race/story-entering changes….thanks for sticking around! (Arlene, Baren, and Alicia)_

_To my fellow LOTR and Hobbit fan…who is also my amazing illustrator, Maegen Skinner…I'm very excited to work on this story with you! It's like our own mini two-person Fellowship! (Haha…)_

_And for everyone who has encouraged me to keep writing this story (along with my other series)…you guys are awesome!_

_J.F._

Table of Contents

**Chapter One**

The Beginning of an Adventure

**Chapter Two**

The Night Raiders

Chapter One: The Beginning of an Adventure

It was a bright midsummer's day in Pippindale. The streets were beginning to fill with Barvins who were shopping, meeting with friends, or selling some of their produce from their farms or gardens. Some Barvin children were running around playing a game near the brook that divided Pippindale and Merryswood, the other Barvin town. Barvins stand a little taller than dwarves, at around five feet, four inches. A little ways up from the market square, about 300 feet down a tidy dirt street, was the home of Flora and Fawna McGuffin, two young Barvin women. Their parents had recently moved over to Merryswood, so they were the sole masters of McGuffin Lane, the largest house in Pippindale. That day, the two girls were out in their yard, reading the newspaper, and just relaxing in the sun. Suddenly, Flora looked up. "Can you hear that?" she asked. Fawna looked confused. "Hear what? In response, Flora got up and looked down the lane. When Fawna joined her, she could hear light hoof beats, and could see a horse drawn cart heading down the lane towards their house. "It's Austin! And Josh! They're bringing Ben!" Fawna smiled, and ran up to join her sister, who was headed towards the cart. Austin and Josh were two friends that lived down the hill. When they noticed Flora and Fawna chasing after them, Josh called, "Whoa!" and pulled on the reins to halt the horses. Then, the two boys jumped off of the cart. "Hello, there! Who are these two lovely ladies? They can't be Flora and Fawna, now can they?" Austin teased. Fawna smacked him on the arm as she protested jokingly, "Come now, Austin! Act like the gentleman you're supposed to be!" Josh and Flora locked eyes and smiled. Out of the two boys, the golden-haired Austin got along with the golden-haired Fawna the best, and the brown-haired Josh got along the best with the brown-haired Flora. Then, Ben came out of the cart. He was a human friend of the Barvins from a neighboring town. He came to visit every couple months or so. "Good morning, Flora and Fawna. How are you two doing?"

"Very good, thank you, Ben." Fawna grinned. "What are you and the boys doing here?"

"We're just stopping by for a day or so…riding throughout different cities. Austin and Josh suggested that we stop by and visit you for a day or two."

Flora grinned. "Why don't you come in, then?" she suggested. The three boys agreed and hitched their horses to a post on the gate, before heading inside. Inside the house-the first room you walked into was a small mudroom, which led into a combination living room and office. Down the hall to the left was Flora's bedroom, and next door was Fawna's. The kitchen was in between the bedrooms and the living room. The three boys sat down in the living room while the girls grabbed a couple snacks and brought them out to their friends. "So-what news of the outside world, Ben?" Fawna asked. Ben smiled.

"Well…" he began, but then stopped, as there was a light knock on the door. Austin got up and opened the door. A tall young girl with light brown hair and blue eyes stood there. "Hey, Austin. I'm guessing Flora and Fawna are here?"

"Yep. Come on in, Alicia." Austin held the door as Alicia scurried in. As soon as she entered, distant thunderclaps boomed. "Hello, everyone!" Alicia called. The others looked up and smiled. "Good to see you, Alicia!" Flora said as she got up to hug her friend. That was when she noticed everyone staring at her neck. "Flora…" Ben began, "where did you get that necklace?" Dangling from her neck was a gold chain, and in the center was a large red ruby. The inside of the gem appeared to be on fire. "Um…I found it in the apple orchard in Merryswood…why?"

"Because that is no mere necklace!" Alicia gasped. "That gem was created by the Dark Lord Trobar!" The Barvins stared, openmouthed, at Alicia.

"What? The Dark Lord?" Fawna gaped.

Chapter Two: The Night Raiders

"The Dark Lord created this gem over two thousand years ago. He created it in the dark fires of the mines of Barandorin, and endowed it with special powers, like greater strength than normal, and becoming completely transparent. He made it to win over the hearts of all creatures of Lower Earth-whoever came in contact with it-and then to destroy them." Ben was explaining the gem's history to the Barvins. "If Trobar gets it back…he could cover the whole world in his shadow in a matter of days." Suddenly, thunder was heard, even closer. Inside of the thunder, a shrieking, snarling voice was heard. "What is that?" Josh asked. Ben and Alicia both jumped up.

"I've never heard that sound before." Austin said. He looked out of the window, but could not see anything. "Night Raiders!" Alicia murmured. She glanced at Ben, who nodded. "We need to leave, _**now.**_" The Barvins looked at him, more confused than they already were.

"Why?" Austin asked.

"If the Night Raiders find Flora here, which is who I'm assuming they're looking for, since they are always searching for the gem…they will not hesitate to kill her, and take the necklace back to the Dark Lord." _That_, if nothing else, got the Barvins moving. "We can leave in the cart." Fawna said, but Ben shook his head. "It's too conspicuous for four Barvins and two Humans to be traveling in. We have to leave soon, on foot. Then we can cut through forests and rivers and such that we wouldn't be able to with the cart." The Barvins and Alicia nodded, and began to pack. This took about an hour, with the girls packing at Flora and Fawna's, while the three boys took the horses and cart back to Austin and Josh's house and packed their things there. Later, the girls snuck out through the gate, and slunk down the hill to the market, where the boys were waiting. "We need to make it to Galway, a town a little ways down the road." Alicia whispered. "We can hide from the Night Raiders there, before heading to Elfdonia."

"Why are we headed to Elfdonia?" Flora asked nervously. Josh gave her a slight hug. "We are headed to Elfdonia because Lord Xanthor needs to know that the gem has been found." Ben explained. "He can help us figure out how to destroy it." Everyone jumped as the Night Raiders shrieked again, even closer this time. Flora looked up. "Hide-quickly!" she whispered. Everyone darted into the bushes and got down as low as they could (or in the case of Ben and Alicia, squeezed behind two trees). They hid for about a minute before they heard something approaching. It sounded like gigantic paws being slapped on the ground. Behind that came the faint clip-clopping of hoof beats. Suddenly, with a slight jingle of metal, and a low growl, something dismounted. It stamped to about ten feet away from where they were hiding. They couldn't see much, but it looked like the thing was wearing a dark blue coat or cloak that covered its entire body-even its head was covered. Where its face would be was a silver mask, with a hole where the mouth would go. It looked around in all directions and seemed to breathe in all of the air in the forest. The six who were hiding stayed as frozen as they could. Finally, the thing seemed to be satisfied that no one was around, and it turned around and strode back to its mount.

After the thing padded off further to the east, everyone came out of hiding. "What was that?" Austin queried. "Was that a Night Raider?" His friends nodded, still scanning the horizon. "Yes," Alicia muttered, "but it looks like the coast is clear, so let's go!" The six headed down the road towards the gate out of town. They made it to the hill leading to the gate (it was about 75 feet away) when Flora tripped on a hole in the ground. As Fawna and Alicia were helping her up, her necklace swung out in front of her face. Flora reached out to grab it, but as she put it back under her shirt, it angrily burned her skin. "Ow!" she gasped. Josh glanced concernedly at her, but before he or one of the others could help her, they heard a shrieking sound coming from behind them. Turning, they saw a Night Raider soaring straight towards them. Everybody ducked. "Run!" Ben yelled. They all took off running down the hill, not even bothering to open the gate, just jumping over it. The Night Raider shrieked, and tore off in pursuit, joined by three others. The Raiders chased them for a long time, even into a forest that was crowded with trees. "These guys don't take a hint, do they?" Austin growled. Ben rolled his eyes. "They're neither dead nor alive." he retorted. "I don't think they really _can _take a hint!" Alicia reached a tree that had a large hole in the center of the trunk. There was ample room in and around it to hide. "Guys, in here!" she stuttered. By the time the Night Raiders reached that spot, they were all hidden again. The Raiders dismounted and looked around, moving like overgrown shadows. Once or twice, they stood directly next to the tree where the Barvins were hiding, and where Ben and Alicia were tucked into the branches above. They looked everywhere, and took great big breaths of the air, before shrieking and taking off again. This time, the hide-ees waited until they saw the Raiders head out of Pippindale and go completely into the rolling hills of Merryswood before coming down and out of the tree. They slowly crept through the wood. As they did so, it began to lightly rain. "Of course, it has to rain _**now.**_" Fawna grumped. Finally, they reached the road to Galway. It was a dark and wet road, with many large puddles that needed to be splashed in. Once they were thoroughly soaked, they came up to the gate. Ben knocked. Nothing happened for a moment or two, but then a small door opened in the large gate. An old, wizened, humpbacked man appeared in the gap. "Four Barvins and two Men…" he said. "What be your business in Galway?"

"We would like to visit the inn." Flora responded. "Our business is our own."

"Now, now, young lady, I meant no harm." the man said as he opened the gate. "I'm the gatekeeper. It's my job to inquire of people's business after dark."

The six went through the gate, and entered Galway. Galway was a small town, in the shape of an oval. The town was dark, with dark brown, purple, and blue buildings that seemed to crush in on a walker. They walked down the road until they came to the first bend in the oval. Over a building on the left side of the street hung a sign with what appeared to be a crudely drawn picture of a pig, with golden words below it reading "The Purple Pig". Alicia opened the door, and they all went inside. They came into a well-lit dining room, with lamps everywhere, and a fire crackling in the hearth in the corner. Flora, Fawna, Austin, and Josh were amazed. Here were more humans then they had ever seen in their lives. There was a group of about fifteen sitting around the fire, and about ten more milling about the room. The innkeeper was a rather large man, with stubby fingers and greasy black hair. "And what might you need, young masters?" he inquired.

"We need a room for the night." Josh replied. The man nodded.

"I've got two rooms that I think you might like." he said as he led them upstairs. The rooms were comfortable enough, with three beds in each room, rugs on the floor, and a small living room in the middle, with doors leading off into either room. The Barvins gratefully took off their heavy packs. "It's been a while since I carried something that heavy." Austin grinned exhaustedly. Fawna nodded to signal her agreement. Josh glanced over at Flora. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Flora nodded. "Just trying to wrap my head around all of this." Josh pulled her into a hug. "I am too." he grinned. A small noise made everyone turn around. Ben and Alicia were pulling things out of their bags. Upon closer examination, those things were recognized as swords. Alicia had one sword that she strapped around her waist, and a small knife that she sheathed on the right side of her waist. Ben pulled out a little stick (which made no sense to the Barvins), as well as four small swords-daggers, really, to the humans-and handed them to the Barvins. Austin and Josh unsheathed the swords, excited. They had had a _little _bit of weapons training before. Flora, however, didn't take it very well. As soon as she grabbed the scabbard of her new sword, she closed her eyes and shuddered. Fawna was there in a second, kneeling next to her sister, with a hand on her shoulder. "It's all right, Flora." she whispered. "Just chase away the nightmares…it's all right." Fawna looked up at her friends and mouthed, "I'll explain later." Flora took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and nodded. Fawna gave her a hug. Suddenly, there was a blue glow and a beeping sound in the room. Ben's stick began to grow, until it appeared to be a blue staff with a white crystal tucked into a little cavity on top. Ben picked the staff up and looked at it for a minute. Then, he locked eyes with Alicia, who nodded. "Guys…I'm sorry…but I have to leave. I'm part of a group of …wizards, and I have to go talk to the head of the group." Everyone (except for Alicia) looked at him, puzzled. "You're leaving? Can't you just…postpone talking to him?" Fawna wondered. Ben shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I have to go." he said. He picked up his sword and belted it around his waist. "I shall meet you in Elfdonia, I promise you. Just follow Alicia-she knows what she's doing." Ben glanced at Alicia again, who gulped, and then nodded again. Ben smiled. "I promise to meet you all in Elfdonia in three to four days. Good luck, and farewell!" he said. He then stamped his staff on the ground, and vanished. Josh shook his head. "At least he doesn't beat around the bush." After about an hour of resting in their rooms, the Barvins and Alicia went downstairs to have dinner. It was now about ten o' clock at night, and so it was getting very dark outside. When they reentered the dining room, they saw more men than before. "Where are all of these people from?" Fawna asked. Most of the men were tall, with long, weathered faces. They peered curiously at Alicia, who rolled her eyes. "Farmers, for the most part…as well as a few drunks thrown in." One such drunk was giving her the "look", but she turned away, disgusted. The innkeeper brought them some food and light ale to drink (their water was not the best, and most people in Lower Earth drank ale anyways). They spent about thirty minutes eating, and then sat watching the other people. As Fawna took a drink, she noticed a man in the back corner watching them. She couldn't see exactly what he looked like, but she could see that he was wearing a dark green cloak, over top of a brown "travelers" outfit-light brown coat (not a complete coat-more like a long vest with sleeves) over a blue shirt, darker brown pants, and very dark brown boots. His eyes, which were the only part of his face that she could see, were brown, and staring straight at them. When the innkeeper came around again, Fawna asked him who the man was. The innkeeper looked over at the man (who had begun to lightly smoke), and then back at them. "No one really knows," he replied, "but word is he's a Woodsman from around Nardor, in the west. He stops here once in a while, and then leaves like a shadow. Around here, his name is Buxley." Everyone looked over at him. At that moment, the door thumped open, letting in cold wind and blinding rain. In came a man who was clearly drunk. He took one look around the room, and then heaved a tankard at another drunk who was sitting near Alicia and the Barvins. The second drunk started yelling crazily, and then threw another tankard back. Soon, the whole room was full of flying ale tankards. Alicia tried to keep the Barvins at the table, but Austin got hit in the head by a tankard, and Fawna's chair got knocked out from underneath her. Suddenly, a drunken farmer came over and grabbed Flora, yanking her out of her chair. "Hey! Leave her alone!" Josh cried, but the man took no notice. As Flora pawed at the man's hands, she realized that the gem-which she could feel- had a hidden catch on the back. She activated it, and the room went silent. To Flora, nothing had happened, but to everyone else, Flora had just turned transparent. "What just happened?" Fawna asked, as they watched a transparent Flora beat up the man. "It's the gem…and it's not good." Alicia murmured. Buxley seemed to think so as well. He got up, and, as Alicia, Fawna, Austin, and Josh ended up having to drive off the drunk farmer's friends, went to where Flora had been. He grabbed what appeared to be nothing, and pulled it into the next room. Two seconds later, Flora reappeared, having reactivated the catch. "This way." Buxley said, pushing Flora up the stairs and into a room across the hall from her own. He shut the door, and then brought Flora over to the window. He took off his hood, revealing shoulder-length brown hair, a thin mustache, and a stubbly beard (it wasn't really a beard-it was mostly just stubble). "I can travel for miles without a trace, and stay unseen if I wish," Buxley said, "but to become completely transparent…that is a rare power." Flora tried to back up, but Buxley cut her off. "I don't know anything." Flora retorted.

"Of course you don't. You know what hunts you." As if to emphasize his point, the shriek of the Night Raiders was heard-growing closer. "They will never stop hunting you Flora, not while you carry the gem. I can help you, if you tell me where you are headed."

"And why should we trust you?" Alicia asked, as she and the others barged in. The Barvins had their swords unsheathed, and Alicia had her hand resting on her sword hilt. Buxley glanced at Alicia. "You can trust me because I know Lord Xanthor and his son, Baren, as well as his sister, Lady Katrina, and his niece, Arlene. And if that doesn't convince you-_that _will." The Night Raider's screams were getting closer and closer. The Barvins locked eyes with Alicia. "We trust you, Alicia." Austin said quietly. Alicia nodded at him, and then took a deep breath with her eyes closed. After a couple of seconds, she reopened her eyes. "All right, we'll try it." she said. Buxley nodded. "Now, here's what we're going to do…"

At the gate, about a half an hour later, the gatekeeper was rudely awakened by a loud knocking. He shot up, and hurried to the gate. "I'm coming, I'm coming-don't get your knickers in a twist! There's too many people coming late at night as it is! The gate was opened-and narrowly missed flattening the gatekeeper as the Night Raiders galloped in. They headed straight for the Purple Pig. They didn't meet any resistance in the inn, because everyone was asleep. They went up into the Barvins' rooms, and just totally laid into them. They seemed to take a maniacal pleasure in destroying the rooms. After the rooms were completely and utterly destroyed, the Raiders went to check their handiwork. They pulled back the covers to reveal-pieces of wood! The Barvins were no longer in those rooms! From another inn, at the other bend in the road, they sat with Alicia and Buxley, waiting. "What are they?" Austin queried. "Or, what _were _they?" Flora queried. "They were once the strongest men in the world. Brave, honorable, and loyal. Trobar used the power of the gem to corrupt their hearts and bend them to his will. Now they serve him-and only him." Alicia murmured.

"They are not afraid to kill you, in order to regain the gem for their master." Buxley added. The Barvins gulped. "Don't worry, we'll be safe here for the night, but we'll have to leave early in the morning." And so, they slept.

CHAPTER THREE

The next morning, Flora awoke suddenly. "Perhaps this has all been just a bad dream", she thought, "and I'm still back in my room in McGuffin Lane!" Her hopes were dashed, however, when she rolled over and saw her sister and Alicia slowly waking up beside her. Flora sighed, and went into the bathroom to change. There was a light knock on the door. "Can we come in?" Josh asked. "Yep!" Fawna called. The door opened and the boys crowded in, already dressed. "We need to leave soon-as soon as you all are ready." Buxley said. Alicia nodded and started getting up. "Hey, Fawna…what happened to Flora last night?" Austin queried. "When she had her…meltdown?" Fawna sighed.

"When we were younger, some men came riding through our lands. Somehow, they found their way up to our house, and threatened our mother and father at sword point. They were eventually driven away, but Flora has very bad memories of it all." The room was silent. "I'm sorry, Fawna." Alicia murmured. "I never knew." She squeezed Fawna's shoulder.

"It's all right." Flora said, having reentered the room. "I may not like having a sword, but I'm okay with using it."

A little bit later, after everyone had gotten dressed some breakfast, the six headed out. It was a bright and sunny day. "So, where are we headed?" Buxley asked. The four Barvins looked up at Alicia, who nodded. "Elfdonia." she said. Buxley nodded. "All right then-this way." he replied. And with that, they set off. Elfdonia was about a day's walk from Galway, inside the Forgotten Forest (so named because the men of the town had forgotten who lived inside of it). T get there, one had to travel west, over the Samwine river, and across the Ginhall plains. Luckily, Buxley had a horse, so they didn't have to carry their heavy packs the whole way. They started out at around 10 o' clock in the morning, and, stopping very few times, reached the Ginhall plains at 6 o' clock at night. Here they made camp on top of a small tangle of rocks. "We should reach Elfdonia early tomorrow." Alicia said, as she stretched. Buxley walked over to them.

"Alicia and I are going to take a look around-stay here, get some rest, and stay hidden." he ordered. The Barvins nodded, and Buxley and Alicia went out. Everything went fine later that night, after everything and everywhere went dark. Flora had dozed off, and now she woke up to find something warm on her back. She rolled over to find Austin and Fawna feeding a small fire, while Josh sat a little ways away, looking out into the distance. Flora gasped. "Guys-didn't Buxley say to stay hidden?" she asked. They looked at her and nodded. "So-why do we have a fire going?" Almost as a response to her question, they heard a screech off in the distance. "Is that…" Josh asked, jumping up and drawing his sword. The screech came closer-growing louder. "Yes-it's the Night Raiders." Austin sighed. Fawna quickly put out the fire, and the Barvins then quickly hurried up to their meeting place-a flat rock up at the top of the tangle they were hiding in. "Where's Buxley and Alicia?" Flora asked.

"Still scouting!" Fawna sighed. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a Night Raider appeared. It screamed even louder than it had before. Josh and Austin immediately pushed Flora and Fawna behind them. They had had sword training before, so they knew a little bit of how to fight. Now, three more Night Raiders had joined the first. Austin charged the first one, and Josh stayed back to protect the girls. "Get away from here, you foul creatures!" Austin cried. He parried a Night Raider's thrust, but the Raider still pushed him back easily. The Barvins quickly clumped into a circle. The Night Raiders began to close in, but a voice stopped them. "Leave them alone!" Alicia yelled as she and Buxley ran up onto the rock. Buxley was carrying a torch, which seemed to frighten the Night Raiders, who backed up. He kept walking towards them, until they had vanished into the night. As soon as they had done so, Buxley turned around. "We've got to get out of here," he whispered, "come on!" The six then turned around and ran away, past the rocks. As they ran, they could hear the Night Raider's shrieks coming closer and closer behind them. The six were about two yards away from the forest when the Raiders caught up with them, forming a semicircle around the group. For a moment, no one moved. Then, a strong, young voice rang out. "That's far enough!" Out of the shadows, from behind the dark trees, came six people wearing black cloaks. Their faces could not be seen, and they held bows by their sides, loosely nocked. "Buxley-who are they?" Fawna whispered. "They are the Ladies of the Night." Buxley said. "A group of Elvish women who protect the forests and lands around Elvish territories." One of the six stepped forwards. "The Night Raiders are not welcome in these forests." she said. "Leave now, before we are forced to drive you off." A cool, guttural sound leaked out from the lead Night Raider's mask. "You cannot harm us, she-elf. We do not fear pain, because we cannot die." The Elven girl pulled up her bow and aimed it at the Raider. "No," she acknowledged, "but there _is _one thing you fear." She pulled back the arrow, whispered something, and then released. As it flew, the arrow caught on fire. It hit the Night Raider straight in the chest, which then set the Raider on fire. The Night Raider screamed. Soon, other Ladies began firing around and at the Night Raiders. Three fired at the ground around the Raiders, while the other three (including the leader, who had told the Night Raiders to leave) shot _at _the Raiders. During the confusion, the leader slipped forward until she could reach Buxley and Alicia. "It is not safe for these four to be here," she quietly murmured, indicating the Barvins. "You must reach Elfdonia-and quickly. We will do what we can, but you must go-now." Buxley and Alicia nodded. "Thank you, kind Lady." Buxley said, bowing. "Come, this way-hurry!" They all turned and ran into the forest. After a few seconds, the Ladies followed them, melting into the shadows, and firing at the Raiders when they came too close. The six were almost through the forest and into Elfdonia when an arrow (not from the Ladies) flew towards them and hit Flora on her left shoulder. Flora gasped, and then fell down. Josh turned around, and immediately ran to her. "ALICIA! BUXLEY!" he cried. Everyone looked back at him, and then ran over. Buxley carefully removed the arrow from Flora's side. "That's an arrow from Barandoria-a poison arrow!" Alicia muttered.

"Well, can anyone help her?" Fawna queried. Buxley nodded.

"The Elves," he said, "which is why we need to get to Elfdonia as soon as possible."


End file.
